Solar ... In the news

Martyn1981

Magnitio said:

Germany has a lot of work to decarbonise their grid considering the decision to remove nuclear power. This chart shows the challenge they face:

Yep big job, and that recent uptick (as seen in the chart below) is not great news, but overall in context, things are going well, but would look better if they hadn't shut down existing nuclear early. IMO once you've built and paid for it, you might as well use it.

Germany’s energy consumption and power mix in charts

Martyn1981

Not the most exciting news, but thought I'd post it due to the sum of some small bits and bobs I thought may be of interest.

It mentions 'plus storage', and that Swindon Borough Council own Public Power Solutions, so great to see LA's involved in RE. And finally I noticed when Googling the first scheme mentioned, Burcot Farm, that it may be 49.99MWp and 49.99MW storage - I think I may have read something that suggests the Gov will relax/revise some of the current rules, allowing for the easier approval of schemes that are 50MW or larger, but for now shows how some schemes are butting up against rules/regs, and the need for revisions.

UK trio plan 250MW solar-plus-storage spree

Public Power Solutions (PPS) has entered into a co-development agreement with Hive Energy and Ethical Power to develop, fund, construct and manage a 250MW pipeline of large-scale solar and battery assets in the UK.

The first project in the pipeline is a 45MW co-located solar and battery storage scheme at Burcot Farm in South Oxfordshire, which is due to be submitted for planning permission in early 2022.

PPS, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Swindon Borough Council, will lead on managing the project development, collaborating closely with Hive Energy and Ethical Power to optimise the sites and use the most innovative technologies available.

Hive Energy and Ethical Power will take on construction and long-term management of projects.

Martyn1981

Large (very large) PV and storage proposal now going to local consultation:

UK developer all ears on 500MW PV-plus-storage

UK developer Low Carbon has started an initial consultation on early-stage proposals to build an up to 500MW solar-plus-storage scheme on land near Gate Burton in Lincolnshire, England.

Can't find any info on the storage part, I suspect/assume that since the project isn't expected to be completed for several years, that the storage part is still to be determined. But here's a link to the project for anyone wanting to read a bit more:

Project overview

Gate Burton Energy Park would comprise the installation of solar photovoltaic panels (PV) an on-site energy storage facility, plus infrastructure to connect the scheme to the national grid at Cottam substation.

The project is anticipated as having a generation capacity of around 500 megawatts (MW). This is equivalent to providing enough clean energy to power over 160,000 homes and avoid more than 100,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year.

JKenH

Martyn1981 said:

Large (very large) PV and storage proposal now going to local consultation:

UK developer all ears on 500MW PV-plus-storage

UK developer Low Carbon has started an initial consultation on early-stage proposals to build an up to 500MW solar-plus-storage scheme on land near Gate Burton in Lincolnshire, England.

Can't find any info on the storage part, I suspect/assume that since the project isn't expected to be completed for several years, that the storage part is still to be determined. But here's a link to the project for anyone wanting to read a bit more:

Project overview

Gate Burton Energy Park would comprise the installation of solar photovoltaic panels (PV) an on-site energy storage facility, plus infrastructure to connect the scheme to the national grid at Cottam substation.

The project is anticipated as having a generation capacity of around 500 megawatts (MW). This is equivalent to providing enough clean energy to power over 160,000 homes and avoid more than 100,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year.

The Gate Burton solar park is just one of several proposed in the area.

Plans revealed for two huge solar farms at former power station sites in Lincolnshire

https://www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/news/local-news/plans-revealed-two-huge-solar-5988292

jimjames

EricMears said:

jimjames said:

Quick update on my post from last month, RPI has now reached 7.1% for November so if maintained for Dec it would give over 60p per kWh for the pre 2012 rate plus same increase to the export too.

We'll just have to hope that the huge increase in BoE base rates announced today  doesn't have an immediate impact ! 

RPI was actually 7.5% so the pre 2012 rate will be 60.23p from April

Martyn1981

Good news that UK public support PV in their local area, as distinct from just supporting it in general which I think is around 80%, with the risk of NIMBYism locally.

Great to see that support is rising and one of the major fears is the impact on nature, on which PV farms actually seem to be having a positive impact.

'Majority of UK public back PV in local area'

Over 50% of the UK public support the development of large-scale solar projects in their local area, compared with 25% in opposition, according to a new report.

The report ‘2022: A Bright Future for Solar, Realising the UK’s Potential’ by Solar Energy UK and Copper Consultancy found 56% of respondents backed solar projects.

“It is especially good to see that people who live close to them become even more favourable over time.”

“We understand that one top public concern is how a solar farm will impact local nature, which is why we are working with ecologists to develop best practice for land management and regular monitoring.

“Evidence so far shows a solar farm usually increases the biodiversity of wildflowers, pollinators and bird species.”

Copper Consultancy director of energy infrastructure Sam Cranston said: “2022 is set to be another historic year for solar energy in the UK as developers look to bring forward large scale sites in record numbers.

“Our research into public attitudes clearly shows widespread support for solar and, crucially, that this grows over time.

Coastalwatch

For anyone who is unsure of the stability and longevity of Solar panel arrays then the warranty offered by Maxeon here should settle a few nerves. Impressively minimal annual degradation of just 0.25%. Don't know how many of us would still be around to collect upon it though.

Maxeon extends IBC modules’ product, perfomance warranty to 40 years

The company said the 40/40 warranty is the longest and most comprehensive combined warranty offered in the photovoltaic industry to date. The product line is sold in most countries outside the United States and Canada under the SunPower Maxeon brand.

According to the company, its IBC modules come with a minimum warranted output of 98% during their first year of operation, followed by a maximum annual degradation of 0.25% for the next 39 years. “The result is an unprecedented 88.3% warranted power level at the end of 40 years, meaning Maxeon IBC panels deliver up to 9.5% more power after 40 years than standard solar panels deliver after 25 years,” it also said.

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2022/02/03/maxeon-extends-ibc-modules-product-perfomance-warranty-to-40-years/

Coastalwatch

So apart from the economic benefit of Solar farms in comparison to FF's appears to be sequestration of CO2 rather than production of it. Could be another useful tool in helping to reduce local opposition that seems to erupt whenever such installations are proposed.

Grazing sheep increase carbon sequestration up to 80%, while also benefiting fixation of soil nutrients under solar panels

Researchers from Temple University have found that managed sheep grazing on an acre of recovering agricultural soil with native plants installed may sequester one ton of carbon per year, which may accumulate for 12 to 15 years before reaching saturation

https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2022/02/07/grazing-sheep-increase-carbon-sequestration-up-to-80-while-also-benefiting-fixation-of-soil-nutrients-under-solar-panels/?utm_source=USA+|+Newsletter&utm_campaign=a51b33e978-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_80e0d17bb8-a51b33e978-159341337

Martyn1981

Simply staggering prediction for PV production capacity to reach approx 1TWp pa by 2030.

For scale, at a UK capacity factor of around 11%, that would be equal to about 1/25th of the World's current leccy demand. For countries with higher cf's and single axis tracking, it would be closer to 1/10th. And just to stress the point here, that's 1/10th pa, just from PV alone. Hope they are right.

Glut Of Solar Panels Is Coming In 2025

Just in time for peak oil, Rethink Energy predicts that there will be a surge of new polysilicon production capacity coming online in the next two years, leading to a glut of solar panels by 2025.

The production capacity of solar panels is expected to exceed 1,000 GW per year by 2030. Pledges made by several dozen companies should see production capacity triple over the next three years. An expansion to nearly 4 million tons of solar-grade polysilicon production capacity will have been announced just in the last few weeks alone. Running at two-thirds capacity utilization would be enough to manufacturer 900 GW of photovoltaics every year.

QrizB

Martyn1981 said:

Simply staggering prediction for PV production capacity to reach approx 1TWp pa by 2030.

That's a whole lot of panels.

Assuming 20% efficiency (which is what current mass-market panels achieve) and 1kW/m2 STC insolation, that would be 5x10^9 square metres of panels - 5000 square kilometres, roughly the area of Northumberland, and (for southerners like me) bigger than any one of Kent, Hampshire or Somerset.